A comparison of four sampling methods among men having sex with men in China: implications for HIV/STD surveillance and prevention.

Sample representativeness remains one of the challenges in effective HIV/STD surveillance and prevention targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) worldwide. Although convenience samples are widely used in studies of MSM, previous studies suggested that these samples might not be representative of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS Care Vol. 23; no. 11; pp. 1400 - 1410
Main Authors: Guo, Yan, Li, Xiaoming, Fang, Xiaoyi, Lin, Xiuyun, Song, Yan, Jiang, Shuling, Stanton, Bonita
Format: research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Nov2011
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
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        atl: A comparison of four sampling methods among men having sex with men in China: implications for HIV/STD surveillance and prevention.
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          Guo, Yan
          Li, Xiaoming
          Fang, Xiaoyi
          Lin, Xiuyun
          Song, Yan
          Jiang, Shuling
          Stanton, Bonita
        affil: Carman and Ann Adams Department of Pediatrics, Pediatric Prevention Research Center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Gay Men
          Sexuality
          Migrants China
          Sexually Transmitted Diseases Epidemiology
          HIV Infections Epidemiology
          HIV Infections Prevention and Control
          Sexually Transmitted Diseases Prevention and Control
          Sampling Methods
          China
          Male
          Sample Size
          Analysis of Variance
          Chi Square Test
          Descriptive Statistics
          Female
          Young Adult
          Adult
          Survey Research
          Interviews
          Questionnaires
          Disease Surveillance
          Convenience Sample
          Human
          Epidemiological Research
          Internet
          Funding Source
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Sample representativeness remains one of the challenges in effective HIV/STD surveillance and prevention targeting men who have sex with men (MSM) worldwide. Although convenience samples are widely used in studies of MSM, previous studies suggested that these samples might not be representative of the broader MSM population. This issue becomes even more critical in many developing countries where needed resources for conducting probability sampling are limited. We examined variations in HIV and Syphilis infections and sociodemographic and behavioral factors among 307 young migrant MSM recruited using four different convenience sampling methods (peer outreach, informal social network, Internet, and venue-based) in Beijing, China in 2009. The participants completed a self-administered survey and provided blood specimens for HIV/STD testing. Among the four MSM samples using different recruitment methods, rates of HIV infections were 5.1%, 5.8%, 7.8%, and 3.4%; rates of Syphilis infection were 21.8%, 36.2%, 11.8%, and 13.8%; and rates of inconsistent condom use were 57%, 52%, 58%, and 38%. Significant differences were found in various sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, migration history, education, income, and places of employment) and risk behaviors (e.g., age at first sex, number of sex partners, involvement in commercial sex, and substance use) among samples recruited by different sampling methods. The results confirmed the challenges of obtaining representative MSM samples and underscored the importance of using multiple sampling methods to reach MSM from diverse backgrounds and in different social segments and to improve the representativeness of the MSM samples when the use of probability sampling approach is not feasible.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
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        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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